Hi I am new to all of this and quite scared at the prospect of being in a trust deed. We just set one up and are going threw the process of debts etc and what we pay out. My main worry is my home. From the start I said I am scared about my mortgage I have two young children and donít want to lose my home. They assured me that would not be the case but now theyíve just said we need our home valued. This was never mentioned before. They now say what we owe the mortgage is less than what it is valued. So they need look to apply to remortgage so they can take the equity for the trust. Is this right? Like Iím scared that in 5 years when we are finished with the trust they will have some claim on my home. Can anyone help?

The situation with your home should certainly have been explained to you at an early stage. It's incredibly important.

First the scary bit. When you sign a trust deed you are "conveying your assets" to your trustee. You're giving your trustee the responsibility to use your assets (if you have any) to help repay your creditors.

If you have equity in your home (the mortgage is less than the value of the home) then this is an asset.

Now the slightly less scary bit. If there's a little equity in your home then it might be possible to deal with it without a sale of the home. Sometimes you might make extra payments (for example, five years rather than the usual four) so that creditors receive some of the benefit of your equity.

Finally, the really important bit. A plan to deal with any equity in your home should be put in writing before you sign the trust deed. You'll need to be happy with that plan before you'll want to sign the trust deed. You'll know where you stand before you become committed.

Have you actually signed the trust deed as yet? I'm guessing that the answer might be "no" from what you've written.

Some great points raised by Trust Deed Assistant there. I too am a little confused that you suggest that you have set up a Trust Deed already but the situation regarding any equity in your home has not been agreed yet. This absolutely shouldn't happen - hopefully the Trust Deed itself isn't yet signed so that you are able to take stock and back out if you are uncomfortable with what they are suggesting. Please don't let yourself be rushed into signing anything that you aren't clear about.

You say "we" - are both you and your partner entering Trust Deeds? Or is it just you? If so, is your home jointly owned? How much equity do they reckon is tied up in your home?

Apologies for all of the questions, it is obviously quite difficult to be able to give you good quality advice without knowing a bit more about your situation. Myself and the other experts would be very happy to help reassure you if we can though.

Hi our mortgage still has 59,000 left to pay but they have valued the property at £69,000 we havenít signed anything yet. They said a surveyor will come out and survey the house and give there valuation. They have said they would need to remortgage our house and the difference would need to be paid to the trustee. They said that because we have just entered into a new fixed rate and we didnít not get to remortgage when we done so we probably wouldnít have that option of remortgaging and therefore would need to be in the trust deed for 5 years to cover this. Yes me and my husband are both entering the trust deed. As my debts are higher and have some solo ones it is two trust deeds one for me and one for my husband. I hope that makes sense. We should receive the paperwork over the weekend. It is with Wilson Andrews is this a company you would suggest? Thank you both so much for your responses.

I would always recommend that you get a second opinion by speaking to more than one firm, as different firms will often interpret the regulations slightly differently. This can make a significant difference to how your Trust Deed proceeds in practice and how long it might last.

I would especially recommend you do so if you are scared and worried about the process, as you clearly are. At least if you are being told the same thing elsewhere too then you will hopefully feel reassured.

Some element of worry is normal though, and it would be strange if you didn't feel it - this is a big step to take and even moreso if you own your home.

Hi yeah they discussed a few different options avaible to us and owning our home going for the trust deed was our best option. We discussed it with Scottish Debt Helpline and they put us threw all the checks then had Wilson Andrews take on the trust deed. Is there another company you would suggest. We have signed online with them to give them permission to access information about accounts but havenít signed any paperwork as of yet. Can we seek advice from someone else if they have all our information.

Hi Stewy19. I was in the same position as you in 2014. I was really worried about what would happen to my house if I went into a TD. I contacted one of the experts on this forum to discuss my situation and met up with him. He told me at the start that if there was any equity on my property then that would be an asset that would need to be pai into the TD. He said there were different ways to do this but what his company did is a valuation of the property to work out if there was equity. I had £2940 equity. This was the important part - I had it in writing before signing my TD that I would extend my TD to cover the equity payments and that there would be no further valuation of the property at the end of the TD., meaning I would not be expected to pay more than the original equity at the start of the TD. Itís very important to have this in writing so you donít get stung at the end with a second valuation. Personally I found it much better meeting an expert face to face to discuss all my options fully and have everything explained and giving me the chance to ask questions regarding the process. A face to face meeting gave me the sense I was being treated as an individual and gave me faith in the company I signed up with. Another company I spoke to over the phone did not explain even half of the ins and outs to me. I advise you to think seriously about getting a second opinion before you sign anything so you know exactly where you stand and donít have any surprises at the end as from what I could gather, each company does things differently. If it makes you feel any better, I paid my 48 payments to the TD then 9 payments to the equity, having just made my last payment and everything is fine. I did not lose my house and I only paid exactly what I was told I would pay to the equity at the start of the TD. I have come out the other side of the process now very relived and happy that it is all over. Things seem impossible at the beginning but you will get there. Please make sure you know exactly what your signing up to first though with regards to your equity and donít just go with the first person you speak to. The experts here are extremely helpful and very honest. I have total trust and faith in them. It would probably be worth your while to at least speak to them before signing anything.

Thank you all so much for all your advice. It has really helped and I discussed with my husband last night. We had a long talk and are going to seek advice from yourselves also. I should receive the paperwork from Wilson Andrews next week but wonít be signing anything until I know whatís what with my mortgage. We have someone coming out on Wednesday to value the property. I also have Wilson Andrews calling Tuesday so I will let them know we have seeked a second opinion and inform them about the signing wonít be happening until we know what is happening with our mortgage. It is a massive step and a scary one at that. We have been consumed by debt for years and hearing from iwanttobefree there is light at the end of the tunnel, has really reassured me we are doing the right thing entering into a trust deed. However we really need a second opinion like you have all stated, before entering into something that will impact on our lives for the next 5 years. We have been told to cancel all direct debits and no longer use credit cards and send in any savings we have. Which we donít. Or any credit union money we have. As little as that is. Is this correct. We are going to really struggle the next few weeks as we have for so long lived on credit. That we donít know any other way. Once the trust is in place and we have a lower outgoing this will help massively.

Thank you all so much for all your help and advice. You really have reassured me and made me feel more positive about the situation. Actually managed to get some sleep for the first time in a long time last night.

That's definitely a good sign. I'm sure once your chosen solution is set up you will sleep even more soundly.If you cannot afford to make the payments to your debts then you shouldn't. It won't make any difference to whether a trust deed will be accepted by your creditors or not. The only issue with missing payments would be if you decide to go for a debt arrangement scheme plan instead, as extra charges may be added on prior to the plan being set up.Not sure what you mean by send in your savings?I'd be happy to have a closer look at your circumstances and hopefully will be able to reassure you that you are choosing a suitable way forward.